Will of a Single Man (REMASTER)
by Coyote2486
Summary: The remaster of my greatest piece, "Will of a Single Man". It will be different, but moderately the same. I hope you will enjoy what I will do to make this story better! Featuring Phantom!
1. First Things First

Welcome to what will hopefully be my greatest piece yet, the Will of a Single Man Remaster. My fanfiction journey has come to a point where I need to look back. I started with little knowledge and fewer skills than I have now. I plan to put that into motion with this story here. I have to of course give my credits to Phantom R.D.S. Foxx for reasons you'll see eventually as you read this.

This story will be mostly different from the original product, like fixing anything I thought shouldn't have been there. First of all, Justin will not be in this story because he played absolutely NO role in the original story, and I've got nothing for him. Sorry to all the fanboys/girls out there, but he's gone. Also, the Coyote/Ashley backstory will be severely changed just because of my overall disgust in it as I go back and read it again. Also, I will attempt to not overshadow Fox's team as much as I did. I will further explore the Fox/Krystal struggles after the events of The Reformation. Also, I am COMPLETELY throwing out the IED plot and Coyote becoming Grand General. I absolutely despise that to this day. He is a mercenary and Field Marshall Thompson would NEVER choose him of all people.

Now that that's done, I'll get on with the story. This has been my most successful thing I've ever posted to the internet, so here goes…..


	2. The Good Left Undone

**2 Years before the events of Starfox: LCEF**

The cold wind of a Fichina blizzard blew past his face. He felt the stinging pain of the intense cold on his nose and he covered it to keep it warm. His rusty white fur was the only thing visible in the blizzard. He didn't plan to stay long, but he had a meeting, an important one at that.

After about another five minutes, the light of a starfighter's thruster beams shone bright in his face. Snow was sucked into it and each flake melted instantly upon contact. The loud noise of the engine became louder as it landed on the cold ground. The ship's cockpit opened up to reveal another figure. He began to run towards him as he hopped out, shocked by the intense cold. Soon, the figure became visible. He had brown fur and his eyes were brown as well, a coyote obviously. He wore a red flight suit and grey pants that were not fitted for the cold.

"Phantom, right?" he yelled over the howling wind. Phantom gave him a nod.

"Do you have a shelter where we can talk?" the coyote asked, clearly uncomfortable.

Phantom replied, "Right this way." The coyote followed him as he broke off in a run towards an igloo shaped building in the distance. Before long, they made it inside and shut the door behind them. Phantom sat at a table in front of them. The coyote looked around the small building. Without hesitation, he sat across from him and shivered. Phantom watched him in amusement.

"Name's Coyote," the vulpine said before anything else. Phantom gave him a confused look.

"Really? That's a shame," he replied. Coyote shook his head.

"Just a code name, real name's Saber. I go by Coyote for…let's say… _personal _reasons."

Phantom nodded and grunted as he sat back straight in his chair.

"So, what do you need?" Coyote asked him. Phantom remembered why Coyote was here. He then leaned towards Coyote.

"I have a problem. I've been seeing oddly colored fox-like people running around Fichina lately, speaking of 'the purge' and 'the return of their home planet'. One of them even got into the climate control center and almost blew the whole thing up!" Phantom paused. "Alright, this may seem crazy, but I think the 'home planet' they speak of may be Cerinia."

Coyote looked at him in disbelief. "No, that's not possible…I…I WATCHED it explode! My sister Krystal felt billions of citizens die that day!"

Suddenly, a device on Coyote's wrist popped a square shaped particle emitter out of a hatch. Phantom raised his hands. "Hey! I just said 'I think' alright? Calm down and don't pull out a knife!"

Coyote looked down at his wrist to see that his wrist sword had been generated and it glowed light blue in the dim lights. He quickly shut it down and calmed himself.

"I'm sorry, that happens sometimes. I…I haven't see my planet for many years now. I just get a little emotional sometimes when it comes to that," Coyote apologized. Phantom nodded in acceptance and sat back in a normal position. Coyote's emotions came down to normal levels and he continued. "Could you show me one of these people?"

Phantom gave him a nod. "Do you have a gun?"

Coyote gave him a concerned look. "Why?"

"Because there's no guarantee these people will be friendly," Phantom replied as he cocked a blaster in his hand. Coyote nodded and pulled his own out of his holster.

"Well, let's get to it," Phantom said.

* * *

The Climate Control Center was the only thing built by an animal in the distance. The blizzard had died, but signs of another were beginning to show. The barren lands and mountains in the distance was all that was around them.

Phantom and Coyote walked down a path that led to an open area that surrounded the Control Center. They silently ran to the closest opening. They put their backs to the wall and peeked inside. Sure enough, a blue vulpine was at work on the control center's controls holding a large assault rifle. He looked like he was in a hurry.

"Damn bastards have been the reason why these blizzards have picked up recently. I think they're up to something," Phantom commented.

Coyote gave him a nod. "I agree, but why would they want to make a planet less inhabitable? Maybe they…no…no, that's not possible."

"What?"

Coyote shook his head. "They may be trying to drive people off the planet!"

Phantom looked shocked and he growled. Without hesitation, he flipped around the wall and shouted at the vulpine, pointing his blaster. Before he tried to pull up his rifle, Phantom put two beams straight to his knees, causing him to collapse. Phantom and Coyote ran over to him and kicked his gun away before he could regain his composure. Phantom pointed his gun at the vulpine's head.

"What the f**k are you doing here?!" he yelled. The vulpine gave him no answer. Phantom's patience was lost and he shot him again in the knee. The vulpine yelped in pain as it almost went straight through this time.

"Ok! I am here…AHH…on orders…to…destroy the Control Center!" the vulpine yelled.

Phantom wasn't satisfied. "Why?!"

The vulpine laughed. "An army is coming…ha ha…and there is _no_ stopping it!"

Phantom had had enough and he put the next shot straight through his skull. The vulpine's body laid there, lifeless. Coyote was shocked.

"What army do you think he was talking about?" he panted.

"I don't know, but if he's right, people ought to know soon. Let the Star Fox team know, tell them to be ready," Phantom ordered.

"I'll try, I'm not really all that close as of now."

"That's fine, but if another force attempts to take this system down, I want to see them burn."

(Welcome to the remaster of Will of a Single Man, featuring Phantom from Phantom R.D.S. Foxx. This story will be much more in depth and will tie up loose ends I left in the original. It will be longer and, I hope, much more enjoyable. I can't wait to get this going! This story will officially kick start next week hopefully. Thanks for reading! Also, if you are at all interested in my updates, I have a section in my profile I update often that tells you what I'm up to, so check that out if you want!)


	3. Make It Stop

**Chapter 1**

**A Week after the Events of The Reformation**

Waking up. It was the thing Coyote hated the most. The feeling of nothing has always bugged him. He needed a sense of urgency, a feeling of need. The destruction of his planet had made him this way. This then reminded him of his father. He hated his father. His father had always left him in the shadows. He believed all Cerinians without telepathy were a "lesser" being, even though it was almost the opposite. Coyote enjoyed his skill and intellect. The only problem was that he was never able to communicate with his sister at his will. She could talk to him via telepathy, which made him feel a little bit better about the situation. But still, it made him feel powerless in some cases. He always felt…..alone, without anyone to be there.

Shaking the strange feelings from him, Coyote arose from his bed. He looked into a mirror behind a sink that was installed to a wall in his room. He stood there for a few minutes and zoned out. Steven, Mark, Rick…dead…and it's all his fault. He shook his head and scoffed. He had to let it go, and he knew it. On the bright side, he got Krystal out, but that's what bugged him. If Krystal never went AWOL, his friends may still be here. A slight bit of anger hit him from the thought of that.

Suddenly, his door slid open. Coyote whirled around, startled. His hands clasped onto the sink behind him. It was Ashley, to his relief.

"Oh…s**t…you know a knock couldn't have hurt you right?" Coyote cursed, blinded by the incoming light from outside his room. He put his arm over his eyes to block out the light. The only thing he saw was her. He relished in her attractive physique. Her suit was tight around her body and it was mostly gray with hints of yellow.

"Get up. You're late," she commanded. Coyote's eyes had adjusted and he slightly laughed.

"Alright McCloud, right on it," he mocked as she shut his door. Coyote threw his head back and groaned. He slowly got on his regular gear: a red flight jacket and gray flight pants complete with a utility belt and his wrist device on his wrist of course. He then quickly walked out of his small room out to a hallway. The _Great Fox III_ definitely was made to hold much more than just the team. It was formally used to transport vast amounts of injured soldiers back to a spaceport to safety. Coyote easily picked it up since it was destined for destruction due to it being outdated, and he had easily fixed _that_ problem after his purchase of the ship, making it battle ready.

The halls seemed to have gotten longer as he walked through them on his way to the command room. He looked down the length of it and saw his destination which was a door that had a very secure lock inputted on it. Coyote quickly whipped out his card and slid it through a slot that slid the door open. He then saw five of his teammates: Fox, Falco, Slippy, Ashley and Krystal, but no Justin.

"Where's Justin? I thought I was _late_." Coyote mocked as he used his hands to put up quotations.

Ashley gave him a dirty look from across the command table. "You were, idiot."

Coyote put his hands up defensively. "Well, I'm sorry, not everyone only needs three hours of sleep like you do!"

"Oh, come on, you know that's not true!"

Falco stepped in. "Alright you two lovers, enough with the bickering."

The only response to Falco's comment was a middle finger from Coyote that he took pretty well.

Coyote looked over to Fox. "This better be good Fox-Boy. I've about had enough of these two."

Fox had his arms crossed and clearly looked annoyed. He shook his head and got right to it. "Well, 'Supreme Commander', I just thought that you would want to know that Justin went off-grid an hour ago."

Coyote put his head down and grinned. He laughed and threw his head up. "So…so…you're telling me that a teammate 'disappearing' requires you to get me up at this god-awful time, and that you're convinced he's _never_ coming back?!" Coyote retorted. "Wow. You're dumber than you look McCloud."

Fox slowly unfolded his arms and put his hands on the command table and leaned forward. "Listen to me. I understand what you've done for this team and for me."

Coyote nodded. "Finally! Some recognition for all that I've done for you, and all I've lost!"

"However, that doesn't give you permission to treat this team the way you have been recently!" Fox shot back. Coyote waved his hand up. "Alright, I got it, shut up."

Fox leaned back from the table and nodded. "Ok, well, team dismissed."

Falco scoffed. "Alright Foxie, I've got to agree with Coyote on this one. I mean, come on. I literally got maybe…_two_ hours of sleep last night."

Fox cut him off. "Get out."

Everyone didn't dare challenge him after a comment like that. Slippy, Falco, Ashley, and Coyote slowly filed out of the room. When the door shut behind them, only Krystal remained with Fox. Fox was confused.

"How did you know I wanted you to stay behind?" Fox asked.

Krystal chuckled. "Forgotten already?"

He suddenly realized that he had forgotten that she could read his mind. Fox shook his head and scoffed. "You know, maybe Coyote's right. Maybe he's the hero this time. I mean, he _did_ bring me up when I was down and off my game. He brought a team to life that I thought had fallen. And to top it all off…his team died trying." Fox paused. "Maybe I'm just a liability."

Krystal was disgusted with the comments that Fox was making. "No Fox! You are much more than that." She sighed. "Ok, I _know _my brother can be a little harsh sometimes when he is dealing with grief. But it will come to pass, and he will be the _greatest_ asset you've had at your disposal, I'm sure of it."

Fox folded his arms. "I don't know about _greatest_, but he won't hurt I suppose."

Krystal nodded and slowly made her way out of the room. When the door shut behind her, Fox was alone. He sat there and thought to himself for a while.

* * *

_What is wrong with me?!_

Coyote felt as if he were insane. He knew that he blew it in there. He made himself look like a monster; a person who had no feelings, no compassion. He was slowly losing his mind.

_No! That's not me. I need to get over them faster. What can I do in the field of battle while I'm depressed?_

Coyote needed to accept the fact that his team was gone, and they weren't coming back, and no amount of anger would bring them back. The faster he did that, the faster he was back in business. Before long, someone was at his door, not to his surprise.

Coyote groaned. "Come in."

His door quickly slid open. He spun his seat around and looked. His expression changed from disappointed to terrified in about a blink of an eye. It was Ashley.

"W-what do you want?" he stammered. She could kick his ass if she wanted to. After everything he said, it was a definite possibility. He wasn't taking any chances, so he decided that generating his wrist sword and jumping out of his chair was a good idea.

Ashley jumped back. "What is wrong with you?!"

Coyote realized that he acted a bit too quickly and he shut off his sword and sat back down.

"I'm sorry…I just thought," he apologized.

"It's fine," she stopped him. "I get it."

"You do? How?!"

Ashley felt insulted. "I lost my whole planet you idiot! That's billions more than 3 of your friends! You know what pisses me off about you? You just never let _anything _go! The fact that you didn't commit suicide when Cerinia blew still shocks me to this day!"

Coyote shook his head. "I know, and I'm sorry I've been an idiot lately, but it's not their death that's bothering me. It's that fact that _I _messed up, _I_ got them killed, _I_ didn't do my part…I just…have never done that before."

Coyote stopped and shook his head. "I killed them."

Ashley made a disgusted expression and shook her head. "Oh, wake up! You didn't kill them; a massive beam of plasma killed them! Blaming yourself won't fix anything."

Coyote just shook his head. "Alright, tomorrow I'll be over it, I promise."

Ashley nodded and began to turn around before Falco yanked Coyote's door open. He looked exhausted and worried.

"You're not going to believe this, but Justin's dead."


End file.
